Demystifying Greatness

In every company I have worked for there are people who are legendary at that company. They are usually very senior people who only appear at executive meetings or company-wide presentations. They are sort of like mythical Sasquatches where everyone knows about them but few people ever really see them in person. Their names often get said with such reverence and fear (“you don’t want to mess up and have to explain it to Fred”).

What I have found is that after you get to meet these people or have to work with them on assignments, that they are just like the rest of us. They have senses of humor, are quirky and sometimes even make mistakes. They even have people that they bow down to (just watch you favorite leader in a meeting with their boss – it is usually a very different scenario).

It is okay to look behind the curtain

Getting to know these people sort of demystifies the aura of their legendary reputation. It also humanizes them and, while they still deserve reverence, it makes it a little easier to work with them.

Now if only I could get this blog into legendary status as I think my shenanigans were demystified years ago!